buying composted cow manure

Well we get free horse poop and it is good but it is hot...and requires composting and we haven't gotten any for a while..

a place we get stuff from ..a feed store..has BULK dairy doo by the truckload for $100 a truckload..it is clean, no weed seed, composted, granulated and it is supposed to be from organic farms in our area..(buying locally)

we desperately need a nitrogen rich fertilizer here right now..not next year when the composted stuff will be ready..so I'm going to have my DH pick me up a couple loads of the dairy doo this weekend..

I'm going to save the best of the first load to put on my fruittrees and vegetable and fruit crops and asparagus..and then the second load i'm going to broadcast over the beds where i'm using wood chip mulches..I'm hoping i am doing the right thing.

it does help the local farmers and helps the local business that deals in it..

and it should only have to be a one time thing as I should have my horse manure /compost pile working again by summer..for next years plants..but I am flat out OUT of compost right now and think I really need it.

all of our local free poop suppliers have only fresh stuff..usually they have a pile of rotted manure but nope..not this year..and I wasn't able to get anything the last 3 years cause of other problems going on here ..no excuses..just didn't get it.

any comments on buying dairy doo?

Brenda

Bloom where you are planted.
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

Brenda Groth

pollinator

Posts: 4437

Location: North Central Michigan

10

posted 8 years ago

oh I should say just about anywhere you walk in our yard and gardens you step on wild rabbit and deer poop....but I still feel that I need something extra on all of those new trees and shrubs and plants i'm putting in??

Brenda

Bloom where you are planted.
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

Posts: 461

Location: Inland Central Florida, USA

posted 8 years ago

If it is just the nitrogen boost you are looking for, you might save some money and some hauling but getting a couple bags of alfalfa pellets and sprinkle them around, much like doo but undigested.

If it were like $100 for a dump truck load and they deliver I think it would be a good deal but $100 for a pickup truck full and you have to do all the hauling, I would want to see some test analysys of the compost to go with that price tag. We can get loads of mushroom compost for $5 a load around here. If it is a bigger trailer you might have to pay $7 or $10 and I might pay my neighbor $20 to borrow his trailer.

yeah it would be nice if we had some of the sources that you folks talk about..like the mushroom compost and alfalfa..but we don't really have a sourch for those things that i am aware of here..I know in the warmer states there are a lot more sources for free stuff to haul away..not here..

I can get fresh manure free, and sometimes you can get sawdust..for about $20 a load..

problem is here there are Cogen plants that take a lot of the waste that would normally be available free, and they burn it for steam to run the factories..

they actually ON PUPOSE chip up decent good trees into chips to take to the cogen plants for fuel..we lost a lot of forest to that..but now they are requiring them to reforest..

when we lost the forests..we had serious bear problems..all the black bears came to the gardens to eat..as there was no food left in the forests..now that has been about 10 years and some of the nurse trees have begun to grow giving them some cover so less bear problem.

Brenda

Bloom where you are planted.
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

Posts: 461

Location: Inland Central Florida, USA

posted 8 years ago

alfalfa doesn't grow well down here, I would expect alfalfa to be cheaper up there in Michigan. I buy things like alfalfa pellets for use in the garden at a feed store. If there are people around there you can get manure from then I know there are feed stores around.

As to the mushroom compost, I am very lucky to live near a mushroom farm.

depending on how often you turn it (if you have a tractor) and how much the manure to bedding ratio is you could well have finished compost in 30 days with the horse manure. you certainly will be able to have a large percentage of it complete and make it be appropriate for a nutritious mulch that the worms can help finish for you over time. if you can create a big pile it will go faster. additionally you might ask if the manager if you (or they) can dig into the middle of the pile at the facility so you can get the stuff that is closer to being finished. I always asked for the middle stuff but your source may not be that large or whoever your working with may not be that accomodating. if you offer to take alot most people will do what they can to get rid of it. it is just a headache for most of them.

"One cannot help an involuntary process. The point is not to disturb it. - Dr. Michel Odent

Brenda Groth

pollinator

Posts: 4437

Location: North Central Michigan

10

posted 8 years ago

no, they do have quite a few horses, clydesdales, bergerons (sp??) and some others..we used to be able to get finished manure from them..but they now are able to sell it..so we have to get only fresh as they have it.

there have been other stables we have contacted..but getting them to deal with us has not been working out.

i did go ahead and buy a truckload of the dairy do..to get some manure on my crops this year..and we will be getting the fresh horse manure and composting it ourselves..here.

yes, thanks Leah, I never thought about using the tractor to turn it..what a great idea..i've always done it by hand..but we never had a tractor before..now we do.

I plan to make a much larger compost pile than normal too..ours in the past was about 8x8x8..

this year I hope to at least double that size with the horse manure coming in..and I still have the 8x8x8 one with regular composted stuff in it..

i did check and find out that the local dairy farmers that are supplying the dairy doo are hormone free and organic..they also supply the milk that we buy..they are free range dairy farmers in a dutch area around here..they have gone together to provide the dairy doo to about 10 or 12 retailers in bulk and in bags.

i got some today and it is really nice..3 tractor scoops or a pick up truck load.

i know it is expensive but if i'm waiting on the strings i have to pull to get the horse manure it could be a long wait.

this will go on after the rain (covered it to protect it from the rain)..likely on sunday or Monday..also the carbon..see my carbon question

Brenda

Bloom where you are planted.
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

Posts: 36

posted 8 years ago

that would be Percheron brenda! neighbor has a bunch of them! $100. for a pickup truck load seems steep!

A hundred dollars for a pickup load is outright theft! A regular pickup load is just over a cubic yard. They must think they are selling gold!

Around here, it is $5 a yard, delivered within 10 miles, $15 for a pickup load (because they have to stop what they're doing, fire up the loader, and mess with it).

If you're going to compost large amounts, be sure to pile it in long windrows, then all you have to do is drive in a straight line, up and down.

Sue

Brenda Groth

pollinator

Posts: 4437

Location: North Central Michigan

10

posted 8 years ago

large amounts..now that sounds like a pipe dream..lucky to get a few truck loads.

the dairy doo was already composted..so it went right on the gardens immediately..thank God as I didn't have time to get it done this year...our growing season is only 90 days here.

120 if we are really blessed.

30 on a bad year.

will be pushing the guys to get me some regular horse manure soon..though so i can compost it for next year..i have two compost piles ready to be spread on the gardens..actually thinking of using one right where it is at as a raised bed..as it is right next to my garden and would be a great place for some squash etc this year.

I was thankful for the dairy doo..sure it was a high price i agree..but very fine no waste composted cow manure..it was 3 buckets of a tractor and it was $95 a load..in total.

sure the horse manure being free is great ..but it is hot..i'll have to compost it..which i don't mind..but right now i needed something done...glad to have it.

it might seem extravagant..but this year i really want to get these gardens in shape and going..and getting free or low cost garden amendement right now has been really difficult for me..hopefully that will change soon.

I can't drive the pick up truck, with my hip condition and as high as it is off the ground..so if someone else won't drive it to pick up the stuff..it doesn't get done.

Brenda

Bloom where you are planted.
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

Brenda Groth

pollinator

Posts: 4437

Location: North Central Michigan

10

posted 8 years ago

they had a news special on the dairy doo company that i bought our compost from this year.

I was very pleased with the news special as it went into all their stuff that they do at this place in Michigan..they buy as much local nutrients as they can and they don't just do the dairy doo ..which is all organic and natural and is mixed with local nutrient..but they also do a chicken manure do, potting soil and soil amendements and now they are dong vermiculture as well as several other methods..and they are going to be opening greenhousees this year..it is a fair distance from our home..but they do have outlets in a local store..where we got our stuff from.

they went into talking about their beliefs and they are totally organic gardening in their beliefs and in providing the best natural products for their customers.

I guess that they are doing such a huge business now that they are shipping to several nearby states as well..but their main plan was to provide the best nutrients for the locals that don't have their own animals..to put into their soil..the nutrients are in super high concentration in their products with no fillers..

I'm glad i purchased through them, cause i can see supporting local people who are trying to provide an answer to "miracle grow" and the other BIG GUYS..in our own neighborhood.. support your local growers.

they are into hormone free, bioengineerd product free, etc..where a lot of the agrobusiness is going the other direction, these folks are going back to the land.

Brenda

Bloom where you are planted.
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

thats great brenda! I guess if they are organic then there can't be pesticides right? in theory of course.... we all know how those things can be twisted. great for them for putting some effort into providing quality soil building products to the people who need them instead of treating the waste as...well...a waste!